I got a notice that my axillary heat has been running for over a hundred and 80 minutes in the last 24 hours and at that was too long. Although having the auxiliary heat function is useful, you’re going to prevent the use of it as much as possible. The auxiliary heat (electric resistance heat, or back-up heat) is minimized since it is more expensive. EM heat is NOT the same thing as AUX heat: AUX heat signifies that your heat pump has automatically switched over to backup heating because temperatures are too low. Emergency Heat is typically triggered when it is 35°F and below outside. If I had known, I would have asked for gas on the second and third floor for sure!! We have a heat pump and there's no gas heat or anything like that. Question. Your auxiliary heat, as just described, supplements your heat pump’s heat when it needs it. Aux heat running too long? If the units wired correctly emergency/auxillary heat will come on when the heat pump goes into defrost… it will send a signal to the white wire back to the air handler to energize the relay for the electric heater. coil every 5-10 min. Running this form of AUX heat for too long can get pricy, so many Minnesota homeowners opt for the second form of AUX heating: a gas furnace. Now let’s say it cools to 26 degrees outside. The house temp is set at 68 and the outdoor temp has been in mid forty to mid 50 range. Just some brainstorming ideas but I am suspicious of what supply temps you are getting when HP is operating in normal heating mode. hooked up, my inside temp dropped 5* in an hour with the pump running constantly. Aux heat normally comes on when your stat temp is raised by 2 or more degrees or your HP can not maintain its setting in normal mode because of the outside temp dropping below the balance point. The cheap builders at my new home, put a gas furnace in for the first floor (zone 1) , and a heat pump for the second in third floor (zone 2). No aux heat. Letting the heat strips run all winter might keep you cozy, but it definitely has the potential to put a chill on your finances. Without the aux. Like just stated, when your auxiliary heat function is running, it’s going to use up much more energy than your heat pump. EM heat is an option on your thermostat that you can manually turn on to activate backup heating. It popped up on my ecobee3 Lite. Auxiliary heat can handle more extreme temperatures since it uses electric heat strips. We're right back at my heat pump running constantly, and using the aux. What this means, unfortunately, is that it’s more expensive than the conventional heat provided by a heat pump. just to hold 68*. Contact a Minnesota tech when AUX heat malfunctions. Here’s how it works. Note: A heat pump combined with a gas furnace is also called a “duel fuel” or “hybrid heat” system. Once it gets close to the actual setpoint, the aux heat de-energizes and the heat pump mode of the system remains operating to generate heat and will shut off if the temperature is satisfied. Emergency Heat, also known as “auxiliary heat”, is the second stage of heat that your thermostat runs on when the temperature is too cold for your heat pump to extract heat from the outside. You shouldn’t ever use EM heat unless there’s truly an emergency—like your heat pump isn’t working— because backup … Difference Between Auxiliary Heat and Emergency Heat. Here are some tips to helping prevent the use of the auxiliary heat … Auxiliary Heat. Knowing the difference between your heat pump’s auxiliary heat and emergency heat will help address the question from above. 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